SAITAMA, Japan – Bryan Caraway survived a late rally and thought he had one of his biggest wins yet.

But fellow bantamweight Takeya Mizugaki ultimately took a surprise split decision, one that left the Japanese fighter in tears after an entertaining three rounds.

The bout was part of the preliminary card of Saturday’s UFC on FUEL TV 8 event at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. It streamed on Facebook ahead of a main card on FUEL TV.

After a close opening round, Caraway nearly finished the fight in the second round and then narrowly survived Mizugaki’s third-round assault. While he seemingly won the first two rounds – and even got advice from cornerwoman/girlfriend Miesha Tate to “coast” in the final frame – the judges favored his opponent.

Caraway scored takedowns early in the fight, and in the second round, they set up deep guillotine and rear-naked-choke attempts. Mizugaki, though, survived (in one instance by illegally grabbing the fence to get out of a troublesome position). Between rounds, Caraway asked whether he should keep the bout on his feet as he was told he was up two rounds to none and could coast.

But the advice was poor on two fronts. First, it allowed Mizugaki to land some heavy blows, including a big left hook that rocked Caraway and forced him to stumble to the mat early in the third round. And secondly, it turned out not to be the case, as two of three judges had Mizugaki up on the scorecards. So despite a late slugfest and a solid uppercut from Caraway, Mizugaki ultimately earned the judges’ nod.

The 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28 scores left a teary Mizugaki in a bit of shock, and he fought back the emotions as he addressed the crowd.

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